Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

A 1997 American spy comedy film directed by Jay Roach, written by Mike Myers, who also stars in dual roles as Austin Powers and his arch-nemesis Dr. Evil. The film parodies 1960s spy movies, particularly the James Bond series. The story begins in 1967, where British super-spy and fashion photographer Austin Powers (Mike Myers) thwarts an assassination attempt by Dr. Evil (Mike Myers). Dr. Evil escapes by cryogenically freezing himself and launching into space. Austin volunteers to be cryogenically frozen as well, to be ready when Dr. Evil returns. Thirty years later, in 1997, Dr. Evil comes back and threatens the world with a nuclear device, demanding a ransom of "one million dollars," unaware that inflation has rendered the amount trivial. Austin is thawed out to combat this new threat but finds himself out of place in the modern world. He teams up with agent Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley), daughter of his former partner, to stop Dr. Evil's plan. The film is rich in humor, pop culture references, and satire of spy genre clichés.